Brave the Storm
by OwlBee
Summary: A comment on a retrieval gone awry could mean end for the invincible duo and their unbreakable bond! How can one survive without the other? Yaoi, Ban/Ginji.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Here it is, my first Getbackers fic, and my return after an extremely long absence! I hope everyone enjoys it! We need more people in the fandom!

Disclaimer: I don't own the boys, sadly.

"Who is the happier man, he who has braved the storm of life and love and lived, or he who has stayed on the shore, and merely existed?" - Hunter S. Thompson.

Chapter One.

"Ban...BAN-CHAAAN!"

Seguchi Sato stepped back, his doughy face grey from badly concealed shock. His wide eyes flickered behind thick-rimmed glasses, checking on the unremarkable package clasped in his trembling grip. Who would have thought that such a nondescript box would cause so much trouble for himself and the two young retrievers in front of him? Of course, what was inside was far more volatile than its disguise, and yet...

His attention was caught by a thump and a glitter of silver metal at his feet. The revolver he had fired in a blind panic had dropped from his lax grip onto the forest floor, and he swallowed bile as he raised his eyes to its work.

He had been warned not to underestimate the two boys when his lackeys had discovered that the Getbackers had taken the case. However, as he looked upon them now, the dark one cradled in the blond's arms, the blond rocking back and forth, whimpering pitifully, he found it hard to believe that the fearsome duo were any more than young men who had fallen on hard times.

Offering a choked apology to the wailing boy, Sato turned, and ran deeper into the silent trees.

* * *

It seemed as though Sato had been running for an eternity when he finally slowed, a stitch making its presence known in his side. Ignoring the stabbing pain, he wiped sweat from behind his glasses, and glanced at his surroundings. Strange...even though he felt like he had been on the move for a long, long time, there was no sign of the sleek black car his personal assistant had driven him to the secret location in.

Grumbling distantly about firing that slacker, Sato spun around to see if he could locate any sign of civilisation. He noticed a faint glow in the far distance, and haltingly made his way towards it. As he drew closer, he was surprised to notice the silhouette of a human figure within that alluring light. Stranger still, it almost seemed that there were threads of illumination twining around the figure, in a manner almost akin to a pet greeting its owner. Was that...lightning?

His steps faltered as he recognised blond hair, and a thick, choking terror began to wind its way up his spine. Rigid, he noted that there was something very, very different about the boy that he had left screaming in anguish. An expressionless face, accentuated by soulless golden eyes...it was somehow both demonic and benevolent, and Sato found himself humbled as though before a king.

The only sound around the two was the rhythmic crackling of the electricity surrounding the terrible figure. Then, in a chilling, precise tone that left the hair on the back of Sato's neck on end, it spoke.

"You...killed Ban-chan..."

Horrified by the vengeful form in front of him, Sato dropped to his knees. Could this dead-eyed replacement truly be the gentle, kind-hearted boy he had met earlier?

"I'm sorry...I'm so sorry! Please, I didn't mean to!"

As a powerful jolt began to boil the blood in his flabby frame, Sato found himself thinking that perhaps his father wouldn't be proud of him after all.

'_I'm sorry..._'

"Just one minute."

Sato cautiously looked up, his throat burning from near continuous screams. His gaze met a pair of laughing blue eyes, which narrowed as their owner took a deep drag from the cigarette loosely clasped in his long fingers. A sardonic smirk adorned his features.

"Have any bad dreams lately?"

Sato's mouth fell open as the infamous Midou Ban blew out a lungful of smoke, and hefted the small package he was clutching into a better position. Were those...how had he managed to take the package? Had Sato been hallucinating this entire time? The pain of his burning skin had been so incredibly real...

The brunette man looked towards his cheerfully grinning blond partner, and winked. "Hell of a lotta trouble for some pieces of paper, eh Ginji?"

Amano Ginji laughed, a carefree, innocent sound that helped to relieve some of the tension cloaking the enclosed space. "Sure, Ban-chan!"

Sato wanted desperately to protest, to defend his actions to these two mere boys. After all, it wasn't just paper, it was a vital tool in sabotaging his father's hated rival company! Father...he would be so proud. Finally, he, Seguchi Sato, would be more than the fat eldest son of a failing empire! However, all that he managed to voice was a pathetic quavering whimper. The blond Getbacker, as if sensing Sato's distress, lost his cheerful beam and stood. Holding out a placating gloved hand to the stricken man shuddering before him, Ginji smiled.

"That was just Ban-chan's Jagan, Seguchi-san. I'm sorry it had to come to that, but your father is pretty desperate that we get you back."  
His...father? They were hired to get Sato himself back, not the precious documents?

"What..."

The blond boy crouched to Sato's level, his soft brown eyes (_was that a flash of gold?_) filled with calm understanding. "He's worried about you, Seguchi-san. He doesn't care about the other company. He cares about his son, and doesn't want him to stoop this low." He extended a steady hand.

"Won't you come back with us?"

That hand...in his dream it had been a precursor to the hungry electricity devouring his skin...boiling his blood. Dead, golden eyes merged with compassionate brown...regal indifference with concerned compassion until rage and fear shook his heart. Without fully knowing what he was doing, he slapped the hand away.

"Get away from me, you disgusting monster! You deserve to burn in hell!"

Sato winced as the blond boy sat back, hurt filling his brown eyes. The man found himself regretting his harsh words for reasons he couldn't fathom. However, before he had time to apologize, he was lifted off of the ground by an inhumanly strong force. He looked up to meet a pair of livid blue eyes.

"You'd better watch what you say, Daddy's boy, or they'll be nothing of you to get back. Understand?"

Sato wanted to nod, wanted desperately to apologize, but was paralysed by the rage on the other man's features. He was somewhat relieved when the look of blank hurt faded from the blond's face, and he stood with a sigh.

"Ban-chan. Let him go."

The brunette's incredulous expression would have been amusing under any other circumstances. "Ginji, did you not hear what this low life--"

"I heard," the brown eyed boy interrupted. "But we need to get Seguchi-san back to his father and collect the payment, Ban-chan! I'm hungry!"

With that, he bounded a short distance away through the forest. Moments later, the remaining two men heard the unmistakeable sound of the metal on a car door being scraped against a tree. Sato's brunette captor's eyes widened, and he was dropped, thumping unceremoniously on the pine-needle covered earth.

"Shit, Ginji! What have you done now, you idiot?"

"Ah! Sorry, Ban-chan!"

With a small sigh that failed to convey the intensity of his tumultuous feelings, Seguchi Sato followed after them.

Ban let out a satisfied whoop, leaning back in the reclining car seat and planting a kiss on the flimsy cheque he held in a death-grip.

"Who'd have thought the old bastard would be so generous, huh? We got enough cash to rent a room for a couple of weeks, at least!" His blue eyes turned to a curiously subdued Ginji.

"We can eat tonight, man! C'mon, lets go to the Honky Tonk and wave this in Paul's face!"

In return to his enthusiastic statement, Ginji offered him a bright smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "Yeah! Lets go, Ban-chan!"

Ban sighed. It was painfully obvious that his blond partner was just acting like his usual exuberant self in order to stop the brunette worrying. He had been like it the entire long ride back to the Seguchi Corporation building. It seemed like he thought the more he smiled, the less it would seem that he was unhappy.

It didn't work. Ban reached over, cupped Ginji's face in surprisingly gentle hands, and captured his lips in a kiss. The transition from best friends to lovers had been a astonishingly simple move after a certain point. In fact, most of their (well, Ginji's) friends had suspected before the Getbackers themselves realised their attraction to one another. With sex being the only addition to their daily lives, the relationship was a simple one, and both men concerned were incredibly happy with the situation.

Usually. It seemed to Ban that today Ginji lacked the usual fervour he brought to their embraces. The blond's eyes were dull as he pulled away from his partner's attention. Ban's brow furrowed in vaguely embarrassed annoyance.

"What the hell is wrong, Gin?"

The brown eyed retriever shook his head, as though frustrated about something. When he looked up, Ban saw a kind of subdued anger in his eyes that made his spine crawl with vague foreboding.

"Did you have to make me such a monster?"

They drove to the Honky Tonk in silence.

A/N: Wow. Bad feelings between the boys, huh? That can't lead to anything good! Sorry about the really long Seguchi Sato P.O.V, I rather liked him and wanted to make him a believable character! Anyhow, I hope you enjoyed it! Please review :)


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Wow, thanks for the kind reviews and faves, guys! Here's the next chapter!

Disclaimer: I don't own them!

Chapter Two.

By the time the two retrievers pulled up outside the Honky Tonk, the tension inside the small car had become almost unbearable in its intensity. Ban had chained-smoked four cigarettes, and was started on a fifth when they reached the familiar café. He paused for a moment, silently wondering what, if anything, to say to the suffering boy beside him. Ginji's words echoed in his head as he inhaled. The dreams that he gave were usually a representation of his own thoughts, amplified by the target's own terror. For some reason, Raitei had been a near constant presence in the back of his mind as of late. He could understand Ginji's anger. Having the most hated part of yourself used as a tool to incapacitate others with terror was...unpleasant, to say the least.

He knew that from first hand experience.

However, before he could explain his feelings to Ginji, his partner sighed and got out of the car, slamming the door with force.

"Hey!"

His protests to the rough treatment of their beloved Miss Ladybug went unheeded by Ginji. Rolling his eyes, he followed his blond partner through the open door.

The scene that greeted the two weary Getbackers was a reassuringly normal one; Master peering over the top of his newspaper with a non-committal grunt of welcome, Hevn looking up from her coffee, eyeing the cheque in Ban's grasp. But where was...

"Oh, Ban-san, Ginji-san! Welcome back!" Mizuki Natsumi bounded into the main café from the kitchen, somehow managing to balance a tray of coffee cups whilst waving energetically. Sendou Rena entered at a slightly more sedate pace, smiling at the retrieval duo and carrying her own (suspicious smelling) tray.

"How was the retrieval? Did you get paid?"

Hevn tossed back her long blonde hair, and affixed a piercing glare on the two boys at the front of the café.

"They'd better have, I want my cut."

Ginji immediately plastered a happy grin over his previously downcast features. "Don't worry, Hevn-san, we got it!" He slumped into a seat opposite the voluptuous woman, and stretched, the bones in his spine making a crunching sound that induced a wince from everyone in the room. Hevn smiled graciously and leaned forward to kiss him on the cheek, her eyes flicking quickly to the brunette in the corner as if to gauge his reaction. It was a little reaction game that she liked to play with Ban; how much could she fawn over Gin-chan before the Jagan user snapped?

However, instead of the usual vehement hiss to back off that she usually enjoyed laughing at, Ban's eyes slid away from hers and landed on a solemn Wan Paul.

"Hey, Master, how about some coffee for a hard-working man, huh?"

Paul gave his newspaper a somewhat paternal rustle, and raised an eyebrow at Ban. "Hard-working _men_ pay for their coffee. Lazy guys get nothing until they get some damn money." Before an outraged Ban could splutter an answer, the café owner interrupted.

"And cheques don't count."

Ban loudly voiced his complaints, and Paul rolled his eyes. It was an everyday occurrence in the Honky Tonk; the two deadbeats would come in and look pitiful, he would refuse them on the grounds that their tab was soon to become a national record, then he would turn a blind eye as Natsumi or Rena slipped them a treat. However, it was more Ginji's oblivious charm than Ban's blunt demands that usually won them over. Paul waited hopefully for the blond's whining interjection, and was only mildly surprised when it didn't occur. Glancing at Ginji revealed that the brown eyed boy was seemingly as happy as ever as he allowed himself to be fussed over by the three females in the room. Not being as easily fooled as the girls, the red haired man noticed that something was still definitely off. He looked sharply at Ban, who in turn looked away. About to say something, Paul was distracted as the bell at the door chimed to announce the arrival of more customers.

Page Break

Fuuchouin Kazuki smiled enigmatically as he and his companions' entrance through the door of the Honky Tonk elicited glad cries of welcome from the two waitresses. He suspected that the pretty young girls had eyes more for his two large followers rather than himself (if the blushing and cooing attention was to be trusted). However, Uryuu Toshiki and Kakei Juubei were not to be swayed from their protective positions by adolescent crushes, and flanked Kazuki defensively as approached the counter. As the coffee shop was in no way a threatening environment, he suspected that this was more for their well being than his. High school girls were rather threatening, after all.

"Three green teas if you would be so kind, Paul-san."

The red haired man winked, and accepted the thread master's money with a smile of his own. Kazuki jumped slightly as a previously unnoticed Midou Ban shouted with indignation.

"What?! You serve the thread spool but not me? That sucks, Paul!"

Kazuki missed the café owner's muttered reply as he swept his eyes over the near-empty coffee shop in search of his wayward emperor. Having not received his customary hug, the Fuuchouin heir was slightly concerned.

Spotting a blond head in a booth at the back of the shop, he excused himself to Paul. He left his two rather nervous guards to the mercy of the giggling waitresses, and made his way over to Ginji. He noticed that Ban's blue eyed gaze followed him silently, and wondered what on Earth had happened between the two. Noting that the blond was barely responding to a baffled Hevn-san, Kazuki concluded that his former emperor was rather depressed. The brown haired boy frowned. A depressed Ginji-san was always bad news.

Making eye-contact with Hevn-san, the silent message to let him take over her efforts was conveyed. She seemed to understand and, with a final concerned look at the blond now laid flat on the tabletop, she vacated her seat. Marching over to an almost definitely sulking Ban, she grabbed him by the ear, and led his yelping form outside. Kazuki would have liked to smirk, but such things were unbecoming.

Anyway, there were more pressing matters at hand.

"Ginji-san?"

Page Break

"Ow...OW! What the fuck, Hevn?!"

The blonde negotiator had managed to drag him quite a considerable distance away from the Honky Tonk before Ban broke free of her stinging hold. Rubbing his ear irritably, he rounded on the furious woman with a glare of his own.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?"

Hevn crossed her arms over her ample chest. "What the hell am _I_ doing​? What have you done to Gin-chan? I've never seen him so down!"

Ban's blue eyes bored into her own, and Hevn found herself becoming inexplicably uncomfortable.

"That's none of your business."

Huffing impatiently, she placed a hand on his shoulder (choosing to ignore his outrage).

"Ban-kun, what happened? Tell me, or no more jobs for a month."

The brunette threw up his arms in exasperation. "I don't even know myself! He hasn't been himself for awhile now. Then some guy calls him a monster on a retrieval and he shuts down, the idiot!"

Hevn's shrewd mind picked up on the unconscious guilt in Ban's statement. "Why did he call Gin-chan a monster?"

Ban huffed, but looked away from her piercing gaze. "I used the Jagan. Made him see Raitei."

"Ban-kun!"

"I know, I know!"

Sensing his distress, she backed up. The blonde woman could understand his confusion. After all, Gin-chan had appeared uncharacteristically down for the last couple of days. She herself had blamed it on a lack of excitement in the monotony of the everyday struggle to get enough money for food and shelter. However, when she had produced a job with her usual flair, it hadn't seemed to help.

She sighed. "There's definitely something wrong here. Have you spoken to him about it?"

"Yeah. Nothing doing."

Truthfully, it wasn't as simple as all that. Upon trying to consult the blond about his unusual bad mood, Ginji had simply replied that he had no idea what was wrong, then changed the subject rather skilfully.

The bite marks on his neck had yet to heal, now that he thought about it.

Sighing, he realised that he would have to sit his partner down, and talk about the odd atmosphere that had been chasing them over the past few days. It was almost like there was a poison in the air that only Ginji was affected by, and this worried him greatly. It wasn't like his partner to hold onto a bad mood, so he suspected foul play. And what of the Raitei as a near constant feature in the back of his mind? At any rate, they were going to get to the bottom of it.

"Don't worry, Hevn, Ginji and I will--"

He was cut off by a screaming sense of danger in his mind. Leaping forward, Ban tackled Hevn to the ground as an enormous shockwave passed overhead, showering them with stray bricks and dust. Ban dully noticed that Hevn was screaming, that the wave must have come from an explosion somewhere nearby, and therefore should be very loud.

However, he heard nothing over the frantic cries of his partner in his mind.

A/N: Wow. And the chapter seemed so slow at first! With so many different P.O.Vs! Sorry about that, guys, I had to build up the plot! Even I was surprised by the cliffhanger at the end! Oh, by the way, posting the chapters seems to destroy my page breaks. Try to ignore that.

Thanks again for your lovely reviews (I'm honoured!), and I hope this chapter wasn't boring! Kazuki is rather hard to write!


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Another chapter in the bag! Thanks for the sweet reviews :) And...ahem. Sorry for the lateness. A Psychology degree is a terrible thing. But I thought to myself, "Hey, I've just posted a new fic. I should really update the old one...".

Disclaimer: Oh, how I wish I owned them!

He was aware of nothing other than an unidentifiable buzzing in his ears, and a bright light beyond his closed eyelids that made his head throb in time with his heart. Dimly noting another person's warmth at his side, he could only conclude that Ginji was playing with his damned electricity again; making bulbs light up or some such nonsense. Ban frowned, his head beginning to ache so fiercely that he wondered whether there had been alcohol involved in his prostrate condition.

"Ginji, give it a fucking rest, man..."

His voice sounded oddly muffled and distorted, and an oddly familiar flicker of panic began to filter through his numb state. Gradually, it began to dawn on Ban that he wasn't curled up in Miss Ladybug, or some cheap motel, there was asphalt under his twitching fingers, and scorching heat on his face and in his nose and _Ginji where the hell is Ginji -- _

"--kun! Ban-kun! Get up! _Please!_"

Ban immediately tore open his eyes, hit with a sensory overload as he became aware of smoke and flame and Hevn's frantic screams intermingled with the equally piercing shrieks of sirens in the distance. The hysterical blonde woman held him by his charred shirt, her wide eyes wild in her white face. The streak of bright red blood under her nose added to the picture of instability, and yet the brunette couldn't help but notice that her body was arched over him, shielding him from the worst of the heat. Overcome with untimely affection, he lurched into a sitting position, wincing at the friction of the gravel beneath his torn elbows, and placed a trembling hand over Hevn's equally unsteady one.

"Are you OK? What the hell happened?"

Shuddering with relief at his newly conscious state, his mediator released her grip on his arm and moved it to her own ankle, leaving several crescent shaped indents in the brunette's skin behind. Taking a quivering breath, she wiped the blood dripping from her nose with an impatient hand.

"An explosion. I don't know what caused it, but it came from that way." Hevn gestured vaguely to an area south east of them that had been obliterated by the still rising flame, her eyes taking on a faraway blankness that Ban associated with shock. Swallowing hard, she forcibly turned her attention back to him.

"A...and what the hell were you thinking, knocking me off my feet like that? Clumsy oaf, my injured ankle is coming out of your pay!"

Her waspish statement did nothing to conceal her trembling fear, or the gratitude in her eyes. However, a sense of normality was the driving force behind her words, and Ban could only oblige.

"Don't nag me, you money-grubbing witch! Didn't your boobs break your fall?!"

Some of the light returned to the blonde woman's eyes, and she swatted him around his still-ringing ears. "Shut up! Now get me out of here before we both burn!"

_That's right. I need to check on Ginji._

Ignoring a growing sense of foreboding in the back of his mind, he hoisted Hevn onto his back even as his strained limbs protested against the extra weight. Making sure her legs were clasped firmly around his waist, he threw a (somewhat strained) roguish grin over his shoulder.

"Hold on tight, big boobs!"

* * *

Page Break.

"Kazuki! KAZUKI!"

Toshiki shook his head irritably, ridding his blond hair of dust and ash as he heaved yet another slab of crumbling stone off of the towering pile blocking the road. His beautiful leader was trapped somewhere within the rubble and flame and nothing, not even the intense heat scorching the flesh on the palms of his hands, would cease his struggle.

"KAZUKI!"

However, his blind companion was proving more of a hindrance than a help. Juubei's panic was becoming somewhat infectious, and the blond found that the thudding of his heart against his ribcage was distracting. He turned to his fellow guard and gripped him by his trembling shoulders.

"You are useless to him like this, Kakei! Calm down and help me!"

The brunette blinked sightless blue eyes at him, and seemed to realise the truth behind Toshiki's fury. Taking a shuddering breath, Juubei nodded, his grip on his rising panic tenuous at best. The blonde nodded encouragingly, conveniently forgetting that his companion was unable to see his action, and turned back to the rubble blocking him from his enigmatic saviour. As the two men worked, he couldn't help but send a silent prayer to whatever gods were listening.

_Please, please let him be alright!_

"Uryuu..."

The almost tangible sense of despair in the other man's tone made Toshiki's heart freeze. He spun around to see his fellow guard drop to his knees, holding a piece of crumpled metal that glittered gold. Leaning closer, he felt bile rise in his throat as he recognised the crushed item.

_Kazuki's bell..._

Before his raging thoughts could solidify into a single coherent message, he had released an animalistic howl that tore at his vocal chords and seemed to cut through the filthy, choking air. The cheerful shine of the little bell seemed to mock his anguish as it rested snugly in Juubei's shivering hand. Fury mingled with the despair coiled deep in his chest, as everything he worked, _lived_ for seemed to be blown apart like the ashes choking the air in around him.

_For nothing...it was all for--_

Juubei's sudden iron grip on his arm jolted Toshiki out of his morbid thoughts. He glanced at his partner and saw an almost unbearable hope on his pale features.

"Uryuu...there!"

Toshiki spun around, his heart leaping in his chest as an exhilaratingly familiar sound somehow managed to overwhelm both the roaring flames and his blind companion's voice.

The cheerful tinkling of a bell that was somehow still clinging to a few strands of Kazuki's charred hair.

"K...Kazuki!" he yelped, never noticing the break in his voice as he and Juubei stumbled the few steps that lead to the dusty figure of their leader.

The Fuuchoin master broke into a radiant smile as he beheld the relief on the faces of his usually unshakeable companions. He grimaced slightly as their enthusiastic hugs slammed into his sore body, the blisters from his close proximity to the vicious flames making themselves known quite efficiently. It didn't matter, though. There were more important things on his mind, more prominently the two heavy bodies curled around him, trembling with the need for reassurance.

"I'm here," he whispered, and that was more than enough.

* * *

Page Break.

The very first thing Paul noticed upon jerking awake was the fact that he was alone. Not necessarily a shocking proposition for some, but Wan Paul prided himself on his strong work ethic. To be waking up alone in an almost pitch-black café on a Wednesday afternoon was surely bad for business.

"U...ugh..."

A nauseating headache began to pound in his temples as he attempted to piece together what the _hell_ was going on. As his eyes adjusted to the gloom, and his ears to the roaring pressure within them, he discovered that things had certainly gone awry during his supposed nap.

Surely the roof didn't use to be in the middle of the café?

His eyes widened to almost comical proportions as the truth slammed into his consciousness.

_A flash of eye-smarting white...a sound so loud he almost didn't register it...scarlet heat, Natsumi and Rena's screams..._

His heart clenched with terror for the two young waitresses. His ears straining for any sound, Paul struggled to his feet with an unintended groan. He raised a trembling hand to check for any head injuries, and froze. Beyond the blockade that used to be his ceiling, Paul could hear an almost undetectable sobbing.

"Natsumi? Rena-chan! Can you hear me?"

The cries paused. Paul leaned forward, his cheek pressed to splintered wood and plaster, desperate for any signs of life from the two young girls. Then, an unmistakeable voice, thin and wavering with panic and choking dust, rose from the part of the room he couldn't reach.

"Master?"

"Natsumi! Are you hurt?"

He could hear her attempts to calm down in the deep breath she drew. Coughing slightly from the dust, she spoke with an effort.

"I'm f...fine, but Rena-chan...!"

A second voice, tight with pain, came through the rubble.

"I'm alright, Master. My arm...my arm is injured, that's all..."

Paul closed his eyes with a brief sigh of relief. It could have been far, far worse. However, after all that the girl had suffered under Lucifer, additional suffering seemed vastly unfair. Squaring his shoulders, the red-haired man took hold of the jagged plaster ahead of him. The light from the broken windows behind him flickered in front of his eyes, and he was grateful that the smoke from the raging fire outside seemed to be blowing in a different direction. That was some luck, at least.

"Don't worry, girls. I'll get you out, its alright..."

Keeping his voice low and calm was difficult, as the exertion from tugging at a fallen beam was causing him to tremble. It was at times like these when he really missed his former partner...

"Shit!" His momentary inattention to the task at hand meant that he hadn't noticed a dislodged beam sliding out of its previous position. A shower of dust and rubble struck him as he covered his head, screwing his eyes shut.

"Master!"

"Are you alright, Master?!"

Spitting out what felt like an avalanche of dust, Paul checked himself over. No injuries, but it seemed that the falling beam had created an even more impossible situation.

"I'm fine...but..."

He took a deep breath as he felt the girls' expectant silence. Failure was not an option.

"...I'll just have to try harder!"

However, as the next movement sent an even bigger shower of debris over himself and the waitresses, it became clear that his was a futile effort. Paul sank slowly to his knees as the girls' encouraging chirps fell silent.

Just as his mood was at its lowest ebb, a filthy, but dearly recognisable hand poked through a gap in the fallen plaster. Natsumi's voice was strong as she squeezed his hand with dust-covered fingers.

"Don't worry about us, Master! Can you get out? You could find some help..."

The rising heat and the close proximity of the ever-growing flames would mean that help would be near-impossible to find. Natsumi, despite her sweet and occasionally naïve nature, was no fool. Paul looked at the broken windows to his right, and made a decision. Placing his back against the pile of rubble, he gripped Natsumi's hand tightly.

"No, I'm completely trapped."

* * *

Page Break.

As they neared the indistinct figure of the Honky Tonk, Hevn began to realise the impact of the earlier explosion. It appeared that the gas station between their previous location and the café had caught alight somehow, the fire reaching the petrol tanks and causing them to blow sky high. Luckily, she had dragged Ban-kun far enough not to have burned to a crisp in the initial surge of flame, but how had the Honky Tonk faired...?

Ban-kun's shoulders tensed noticeably under her gripping fingernails as he beheld the caved-in roof of his favourite haunt. The front windows were completely smashed. Great chunks of the brickwork lay strewn about, as if a giant hand had gouged them from the building. Hevn let out an unintended gasp, and unconsciously leaned closer to her brunette mount. His drooping spikes tickled her cheek as she dropped her head onto his shoulder. She was close enough that, even over the sound of the flames, the screaming, and the sirens, she heard his near-silent whisper.

"Ginji..."

Her heart clenched painfully as she thought of their friends, but, for once, she had to keep it together for the lone Getbacker.

"He'll be fine," she whispered. "He'll keep them safe."

Ban-kun stood silent for a moment, then appeared to come back to himself. He lowered her to the ground with surprisingly gentle hands.

"Can you walk?"

Ignoring the throbbing pain in her swollen foot, Hevn nodded. He seemed satisfied with her answer, and dived into the stricken café to save their friends. She bit back a scream of shock and struggled to a half-standing position, desperate to help in any way she could.

_Come on, girl...they may be idiots, but they're MY idiots!_

Unfortunately, all the good intentions in the world couldn't fix a broken ankle, and the agony of standing made stars explode in her vision as she slumped back towards the heated asphalt. Suppressing an undignified yelp of pain, Hevn could only sit back and worry.

Suddenly, her heart leaped as an unsteady shape wavered through the choking smoke. Wan Paul looked horrific; he was covered in dust and ash, bright red blood adding a shocking twist to his pale face.

"Paul! Paul, I'm here!"

He squinted, wracking coughs tearing through his weakened body. She waved madly, feeling a little stupid as he stumbled towards her and collapsed at her side. Gripping his shoulder tight enough to bruise, she shook him gently.

"Paul, speak to me! Are you alright?!"

He looked up, glasses askew, and gave her a weak smile that stretched his split lip painfully. "F...fine, but..."

He was interrupted by a muffled crash coming from the direction of the gutted Honky Tonk. Hevn whipped around just as Ban barrelled out of the café at a full sprint, the dazed forms of the two young waitresses tucked protectively in each of his arms.

"Move!" He called in a rasping yell, and Hevn found herself being dragged unceremoniously out of range of the ominously groaning building by a miraculously mobile Paul. She soon realised their intention, as the Honky Tonk seemed to fold in on itself as if in slow motion, an immense sound and a cloud of dust chasing the collapse. Ducking into Paul's shielding embrace, she closed her eyes.

When she was able to breathe again, she looked up. Natsumi and Rena had been laid gently on the filthy concrete, both unconscious and streaked with ash. Paul sat panting harshly by her side. And Ban...

Ban stood looking towards the devastated café, his hair turned white with dust and a terrible expression twisting his features.

_Oh, God, no..._

The Jagan user fell to his knees and slammed both fists into the ground, and Hevn's world screeched to a metaphorical halt.

_Gin-chan...!_

A/N: I can see why you'd be angry. I didn't update for ages, the writing is probably _awful_, I left it on a cliffhanger and...

And...

I DESTROYED THE HONKY TONK. I know, it hurt me too.

Those who are still with this, I hope you enjoyed!


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